Ind vs SL 3rd Test: Kohli, Vijay tons guide India to 371/4 on Day 1

New Delhi: Impeccable 150+ scores by opener Murali Vijay and skipper Virat Kohli led India to a dominating position at 371/4 in the first inning of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground here on Saturday.

At Stumps on Day 1, Kohli was standing at the crease like a pillar at the individual score of 156 off only 186 deliveries with 16 boundaries, and was accompanied by the very calm Rohit Sharma (6 off 14, 1 four).

Despite losing Shikhar Dhawan (23 off 35, 4 fours) and Cheteshwar Pujara (23 off 39, 4 fours) early in the inning, Kohli and Vijay did not look in any trouble what so ever and stitched together a tremendous 283-run partnership for the third wicket.

The partnership laid the foundation of a huge total before Vijay departed at the individual score of 155 runs. He took 267 balls and smashed 13 flourishing fours in his inning before getting stumped off the bowling of Lakshan Sandakan.

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Ajinkya Rahane, however, disappointed once again, going back to the pavilion after adding only 1 run off 5 deliveries. He also got stumped in a very similar manner to the same bowler to whom Vijay gave his wicket a few balls earlier.

India still looks to be in commanding position despite losing two quick wickets by the end of the day's play, as Kohli and Rohit are batting at the crease and India's tail end, having potential batsmen like Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, is capable of scoring big runs at any stage of a match.

Sandakan was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lankan team as he bagged two wickets Lahiru Gamage and Dilruwan Perera picked one wicket each. The visiting team desperately needs some more wickets to stay alive in contention of equaling the series. Currently, India is 1-0 up in the three-Test series.